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Hardin (Japanese: ハーディンHardin) was the prince of Aurelis and the younger brother of its ailing king, who made a name for himself in the War of Shadows as the leader of a successful guerrilla resistance against the forces of the Dolhr Empire. Fondly known by the people of Aurelis as the "Coyote" (Japanese: 草原の狼Wolf of the Plains), he and the small band of Aurelian knights under his command staved off the Macedon occupation of the country and protected the refugee Princess Nyna of Archanea. The two later joined with Marth of Altea to form the Archanean League, and Hardin fought as one of Marth's most trusted allies in their battle to free the land.

Following the war's end, Hardin was married to Nyna and became the king of Archanea. Under his guidance, the battered nation experienced a swift recovery, culminating in Hardin restyling the it the Empire of Archanea with himself as its first emperor. However, his own personal issues led to him being consumed by depression and he fell under the influence of Gharnef, who corrupted him into a vicious dictator whose repressive rule soon became known by the people as the "Dark Emperor". In this state he sought to destroy Marth, engaging Altea in an invasion which ultimately turned into a new war, the War of Heroes.

Biography

Guerrilla hero

When the War of Shadows began and Dolhr's eyes turned to conquering Aurelis, Hardin led the Aurelian defense on his brother's behalf. Despite his best efforts and his mild success in aggravating the enemy, Aurelis slowly lost most of its territory to Dolhr's ally Macedon, eventually driving Hardin and his brother to abandon the palace in favour of the Northern Fortress.[1] During this time, he managed to free Aurelian citizens who once dwelt on the plains from slavery; among these were Wolf, Roshea, Vyland and Sedgar, all of whom joined him as knights and served at his side through his guerrilla campaign.[2]

At some point during this campaign, Hardin encountered a band of rogue Macedonian soldiers who were pillaging Aurelian villages, and learned of their use of an abandoned fortress as a base. While fighting them, he encountered Minerva and, careful not to reveal his identity as a rebel leader and her enemy, suggested the two join forces to put an end to the deserters. On their successful defeat of the leader Ruben and capture of the fortress, Hardin retreated before Minerva could notice, and it was only afterward that she learned his identity. Hardin later remarked that he was thoroughly impressed by what he saw of Minerva's combat prowess.

Some time later, Hardin received word of a plan by Camus to stage an escape from captivity for the Archanean princess Nyna. He and his knights arrived in time to engage a Dolhr task force and take Nyna into his protection, even as Camus and his Sable Order subordinates were captured themselves for their actions. While Hardin continued to lead the resistance against the Macedonian occupiers, Nyna issued a call to arms across the continent for warriors to join the fight against Dolhr, but her call to arms would not be answered for several more months.[3]

The Archanean League

Grim though their situation was, Hardin and his knights continued to wage battle against Macedon for several months, until he and Nyna received word of Marth and the Altean army's arrival in Aurelis. As soon as Marth reached the region near the Northern Fortress, Hardin set out with his knights to join forces with Marth's army and put an end to the Macedonian occupation once and for all. Instantly impressed with and taking to Marth as soon as they first met, Hardin insisted that Marth take the reins of the operation and wished for the two to have a long friendship.

After Aurelis's liberation, Hardin and Nyna formally joined their remaining army with Marth's to create a single, united front, dubbed the Archanean League. He continued to serve alongside Marth until the war's conclusion; years later, before their eventual conflict, Marth would fondly remark that Hardin's contributions to the war effort were invaluable.[4]

Restoration and downfall

Following the war, Nyna's advisor Boah believed that Nyna needed to be married in order to give Archanea a king to restore its former glory, and Hardin was found to be the only suitable candidate, given Marth's engagement to Caeda. As a result, despite her own personal issues, Boah insisted that she had no choice but to marry Hardin, to which she relented. Hardin, who had already long harbored a romantic interest in Nyna, eagerly accepted her proposal; Boah later observed that the thought of being Nyna's husband interested him far more than taking the Archanean throne.[5] As such, Hardin and Nyna were married, turning Hardin into the twenty-fourth king of Archanea.

The instant he had taken the throne, Hardin turned his attention to the state of his new kingdom and the rest of the world. Although Archanea had been wounded deeply, like almost every other of the Seven Realms, Hardin directed an aggressive restoration effort which succeeded in rebuilding the entire kingdom swiftly, and reconstituted a new army for the land. His era of progress and redevelopment culminated in Hardin restyling Archanea as the "Holy Empire of Archanea", with himself and Nyna as emperor and empress. For a time, the actions of Hardin and his empire appeared to have secured a stable, lasting peace for the world.[6]

Hardin's personal life, however, soon proved to be a far cry from the stability his actions had brought to Archanea. Despite his immense joy at being wed to Nyna, he soon learned of the marriage's arranged nature and Nyna's lack of actual love for him. The revelation devastated him, spiralling him into a deep depression and driving him to alcoholism; he locked himself in his bedchamber and refused to see anybody. His condition was quickly preyed upon by Gharnef, as part of his new plan to revive Medeus. Gharnef appeared before Hardin and offered him the Darksphere, which instantly twisted his once-righteous heart and turned him into a malevolent conqueror, and he willingly handed Nyna over to Gharnef for use as the first of the sacrifies.[7]

Dark Emperor

Under the Darksphere's control, Hardin became bent on causing the destruction of the world through conquest. For a time, his descent into darkness was unknown to the world, even as atrocities began to occur under his empire's watch. Grust was the epicenter of one such disaster: on Hardin's command, his former ally Lorenz was deposed as regent and control of the territory was entrusted to Lang, a disgraced traitor. As part of a scheme to cause his downfall, Hardin tasked Marth with assisting Lang in putting an end to Lorenz and his "resistance" to Archanean control of Grust. With Marth and his best knights distracted fighting in Grust and Macedon, Hardin then ordered an invasion and conquest of the weakened Altea, one which was long-planned and extensively prepared for.[8]

Next, shortly after Marth's defeat of Lang, Hardin personally oversaw a mission at Chiasmir to corner and destroy Marth. It was at Chiasmir that Hardin and Marth met for the first time since Hardin's possession, and Hardin revealed to Marth his intent to destroy him and the world. However, the mission failed as Marth and his army successfully escaped Chiasmir by sea. With Marth fleeing north to Khadein and beyond, and his forces failing to pursue the prince, Hardin's attention during Marth's absence instead turned inward, as public opinion in Archanea turned against him for his murderous actions, to the point of earning the moniker "Dark Emperor" among the people of the empire.[9] Shortly before Marth's return, a rebellion against Hardin erupted, led by Midia and composed of both citizens and knights. Hardin's army soon put down the rebellion and captured its leaders.[10]

When Marth and the Altean army came to defeat Hardin, he personally led the Archanean Empire's final stand, still bent on destroying Marth himself. Before their confrontation, Hardin declared that he had always loathed Marth, and swore to kill him and replace him as the true hero of Archanea. With the power of the Lightsphere on his side, Marth and his army pierced the Darksphere's protection and killed Hardin. As he died, Hardin reverted to his former self and with his last breath begged Marth to save Nyna from the dark fate his actions had set up for her.

Promotion stat gains

In Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, promotion gains consist on giving the character as many points as necessary -the "x" value shown in the table- to reach the promoted class' base stats. If the character's stats are higher than their promoted class' base stats, they will not receive any bonus.

Promotion stat gains

Book 2

Role

Hardin is the boss of Chapter 20, and is accordingly the final boss of the game in its bad ending. He holds the Darksphere, and as a result can only be damaged by units who have the Lightsphere in their inventory.

Prior to this, Hardin also appears as a boss in Chapter 8, but owing to the player having no way of possessing the Lightsphere at this point, he is entirely invincible; the goal of the chapter is not to fight him, but to reach the seize point before he and a group of Generals under his immediate command attack the player's army.

Role

Hardin is a playable character in the second episode, Crimson Dragoon. He acts as one of two "lord" characters for that episode, along with Minerva; his death resets the playthrough of the episode. He also appears in the closing cutscene of the fourth episode, The Beginning.

Role

Emperor Hardin is the boss of Chapter 20, and is accordingly the final boss of the game in its bad ending. He holds the Darksphere, and as a result can only be damaged by units who have the Lightsphere in their inventory. Prior to this, he also appears as a boss in Chapter 8, but owing to the player having no way of possessing the Lightsphere at this point, he is entirely invincible; the goal of the chapter is not to fight him, but to reach the seize point before he and a group of Generals under his immediate command attack the player's army.

Skill set

Like all male bonus units in Awakening, Hardin has access to all base class and advanced class skills available to standard male units.

Personality and character

Hardin's true personality was that of a courageous and virtuous man. Considering himself an excellent judge of character, he instantly took to and trusted Marth, not hesitating to put aside matters of glory and remembrance in history in favour of entrusting him with command for what he believed to be the best possible outcome in battle.[11] He believed teamwork to be integral to victory in battle, respected honor and honest intentions even among his long-time enemies, such as with Minerva during the War of Shadows, and was shrewd enough to put aside such differences for the good of the common people of Aurelis.[12] From the moment they met, he had harbored a deep romantic interest in Nyna, but before their eventual marriage he had no problem putting it aside to focus on the tasks before him, successfully concealing it from her.

After falling under the Darksphere's spell, Hardin became extremely aggressive and determined to destroy anybody who would dare oppose him. Any love he once held for his friends and allies was replaced by a deep hatred for what he viewed as their betrayal of him, even Nyna. In particular, he developed an intense hatred of Marth, claiming it to have always existed, and boasted that Marth, supposedly worthless without Hardin's aid, did not deserve the many accolades showered upon him. He claimed that he intended to take Marth's place as the world's true hero by killing Marth.[13] He claimed humanity to be inherently traitorous and corrupt to a point beyond saving, and viewed the continued existence of the world as worthless as a result, taking it upon himself to conquer and destroy it.[14][15]

Death quotes

Marth... Your highness... I have finally awakened... From my deep dream... Your highness... I am deeply sorry... I fought with my inner demon. However, I was too weak... I resisted with all my might... But I still lost... I hoped for your highness’ hand to end my life... That way I could be saved... Your highness... Nyna... Please take care of Nyna... She... I hope you... can tell her... In the... end... I still... loved her... I hope... She can... forgive me...

Darksphere:[Activate][Once per turn] [] Until the end of the opponent's next turn, this unit gains the following effect:[Always] When this unit is being attacked by opponent non-Main unit, this unit gains +30 attack.Bloodstained Holy Lance:[Activate] [] [F2] Destroy 1 Cost 2 or lower non-Main enemy unit. If you do, this unit gains +10 attack and 1-2 range until end of turn.Sacrifice:[Always] If this unit uses Darksphere or Bloodstained Holy Lance, you can discard one ally instead of paying the cost.

Fierce White Coyote:[Trigger][Once per turn] When this unit is moved into the vanguard, he gains +10 attack and 1-2 range.Lord of the Lea:[Activate][Once per turn] Choose any number of allied units and move them.

Bond of Aurelis:[Always] During your turn, if Nyna, Wolf, Sedgar, Roshea, or Vyland are in play as allies, this unit gains +10 attack.Attack Emblem:[Support] Until the end of the attack phase, your attacking unit gains +10 attack.

References

↑"This kingdom alone had somehow resisted Dolhr’s attempts to conquer it, but only by some miracle. By the time Marth arrived in Aurelis, much of its territory had already been carved up by Dolhr’s ally Macedon. Still, the king’s younger brother, Hardin, refused to give up without a fight. The people called him Coyote, and he intended to live up to the name." - Opening narration of Chapter 5, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

↑"Princess Nyna, under the protection of Hardin, called upon the entire continent to reform the Archanean League and go to war against the Empire. A few months later, one young man answered to Nyna's call, leaving the island that was his refuge. That young man was Marth..." - Closing narration of The Beginning, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"He's a wonderful person. In the previous war, Hardin was a precious ally of ours. As King Aurelis's younger brother, he fought to protect Princess Nyna, who had escaped to the Lea of Aurelis." - Marth, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"Boah: House Archanea must truly be cursed. As you know, two years ago... Hardin and Princess Nyna were wed. In order to restore Archanea to glory, a king was needed. There were but two suitable individuals: King Aurelis's younger brother, Duke Hardin, and you, Prince Marth of Altea... Princess Nyna begged me to wait just a while longer, but once I insisted of its absolute urgency... She said that it could not be you, for Princess Caeda would grieve. In the end, Hardin was our only choice...Marth: Let me get this straight. I understand that Archanea could not be without a king. But Princess Nyna, she already...Boah: You speak of Sir Camus of Grust? The people must never know... 'Twould be heresy. The decision cost us dearly, but what choice did we have? It was for our country. On the bright side, Hardin was happy. In fact, the thought that he was to be Princess Nyna's husband pleased him greater than his ascension to the throne." - Boah and Marth, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"Among the nations that made up the "Seven Realms of Archanea", Gra and Grust were devastated. Altea, Aurelis, Macedon and Talys were left deeply scarred, and even the mighty Kingdom of Archanea was undergoing restoration. However, in the palace still shaken by war, one important event took place. Hardin, the younger brother of King Aurelis, was married to Princess Nyna, becoming the twenty-fourth king of House Archanea. After ascending the throne, Hardin aggressively restored the country in the twinkling of an eye, and formed a powerful army by gathering many soldiers. He then proclaimed the restoration of the Holy Archanean Empire, and himself Emperor. One year has passed since the war with Dolhr. The world seemed to be moving towards an era of peace. However, unbeknownst to man, the cogs of destiny had started spiralling out of order." - Opening synopsis, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"Boah: But sadly, Hardin soon realized that Princess Nyna did not reciprocate his love. It pained him greatly... He shut himself into his room, drinking away his sorrows, and saw no one. Spotting an opportune moment, as Hardin wallowed in heartbreak, Gharnef appeared. The despairing emperor's heart was gripped by the Darksphere in an instant. He completely changed as a person from then. I've made a terrible mistake, out of my concern for this kingdom. Please forgive me, Prince Marth... Marth: So that's how it is. ...And what of Princess Nyna? How is she now?Boah: Hardin handed Princess Nyna to Gharnef. Gharnef said that he required the blood of noble-born clerics in order to resurrect the Shadow Dragon... Prince Marth, my end is nigh. I shall give you my tome and staff. Please save Princess Nyna. Even if Archanea's destruction cannot be undone... Make sure that she is safe..." - Boah and Marth, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"Jagen: This is terrible beyond words... That which I feared the most has come to pass. Emperor Hardin likely heard Lang's story, and had us branded traitors.Marth: I refuse to believe it. Hardin would never attack Altea! You're telling me that he believed Lang and truly thought that I wished to instigate a rebellion? Never!Jagen: No, I agree with you, sire. This attack was too soon. It happened far too quickly. For an attack of this scale, a great number of preparations had to have been in place. It is likely... that the Grust campaign was a setup. As was the situation in Macedon. It's quite simple, really. They had you leave Altea, with your elite knights in tow, and then proceeded to attack our weakened defenses. Hardin had this planned right from the start." - Jagen and Marth, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"The Archaneans welcomed them as liberators, supporting them without sparing efforts. All of them had bitter words about Hardin and his bodyguards, who were inside the castle. The people now called Hardin the Dark Emperor. A title symbolic of the people's hatred for he who had killed so many." - Opening narration of Chapter 20, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"It seems there was a rebellion in the palace not long ago. Citizens and knights rioted against Hardin's actions... However, they were defeated, and now await execution by Hardin." - Jagen, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"Hardin: “I’ve left Princess Nyna someplace safe for now. We need to decide who will command here. I was hoping it would be you.Marth: Me? But, Sir Hardin, you are far more qualified-Hardin: Tsk, Princess Nyna would not be pleased to hear us nitpicking over who will be listed in the history books. Take command, so we can oust this Macedonian scum and be done with it." - Hardin and Marth, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

↑"Minerva: To think so many shameless scoundrels would claim to be part of the noble Macedonian army... The misdeeds of Macedon are my responsibility. Do not interfere.Hardin: With all due respect, Dame Minerva, a battle cannot be won alone. As we share the same contempt towards the enemy, it would benefit both of us to join forces against them." - Minerva and Hardin, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"Hardin: Heh heh heh... Marth, sweet and naive as ever. Why do you think I attacked Altea? Because I utterly despised you. In the last war, just because you were Anri's descendant... Nyna entrusted you with the Fire Emblem, and made you the League's commander. "The Prince of Light"... More like "insolent brat"! Without my help, you would have died long, long ago. So don't act so high and mighty!! I have always despised you since then. I put up with you for Nyna's sake, but I knew we'd have to settle things sooner or later. It has nothing to do with the orb!Marth: Hardin... Is that really how it was...? I had no idea that... that you hated me so...Hardin: Hmph... That's why you're still just a boy. Marth! Come to me. I'll shove this lance through your heart!! There's only enough room in this continent for one hero, and that hero is ME!" - Hardin and Marth, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"Hardin: Nyna? That woman betrayed me. All I wanted to do was destroy Grust. That woman had the audacity to give the emblem to that boy... And so I punished her. I will kill all who oppose me. That includes you, Midia!!Midia: Do with my life as you will. But, Hardin... How many people do you think you've killed out of petty jealousy? Enough. Open your eyes!Hardin: Petty jealousy, you say...? Heh heh... Say what you will. This world is rotten to its core. Swarming with insignificant insects that you call humans. What worth is left in it? Perhaps it would be better if it were all destroyed." - Hardin and Midia, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

↑"I tire of watching the world choke on the wretched men who walk it. Only I can wipe it clean of its filth." - Hardin, Fire Emblem Awakening

This article is part of Project Characters, a project focused in writing articles for every character present in the Fire Emblem series.